I am so very sorry for your loss.
At my clinic, male cats do not undergo general anesthetic. They receive a heavy sedation, in which they can breath on their own without being intubated, get a reversal and pain relief injection when the procedure is over. Certain drugs are safer for cats, and others, like isoflurane (which is the drug we use for general anesthetic) can contribute to a rougher wake up and recovery.
After the surgery, they are placed back in their kennel or carrier with a blanket and are checked on periodically. Yes, this often means just a glance as we walk past, but if they aren't responsive or look off (especially if they were already awake) then it is bought to a vet's attention immediately. Action is then taken from there, beginning with an assessment of their vitals.
There is risk with every surgery. It is possible, seeing as cat castrations are normally fairly quick, that he had a reaction to a drug at some point after he was returned to his cage, or was accidently overdosed. It sounds to me as though they may have called you prematurely. If they called you right after the surgery was finished, then there was still plenty of time for something to go wrong. At my clinic, we do not contact the owner until the animal is fully awake for some time, unless something has gone wrong and we need to inform them.
There is also the possibility your kitty had some underlying condition you or anyone else was unaware of, even at such a young age, and his system couldn't handle the duress. We had a perfectly healthy, 6 month old male dog come in for a castration. The surgery was going smoothly, until it wasn't. His vitals were normal, he was breathing fine throughout the procedure etc. The moment we turned off the anesthetic though, I realised his heart rate was crashing. We gave him emergency drugs, put him back on oxygen immediately but he wouldn't respond to anything. One of the vets called his owner to inform him we were doing our best to save him, but the reality wasn't looking good. Then after two hours of him being unconscious (the vet sat with him the entire time) he finally came around. We were all incredibly lucky, including him, but it just went to show that genetics play a large part and even healthy animals face a risk.
As horrible as this sounds, if cats aren't positioned correctly after surgery, they can suffocate, so that may be a factor as well.
If you really want to get to the bottom of this, you could demand that the clinic tell you what drugs (and how much) they used on him, and what preventative measures they took exactly to make sure he was as safe as possible. You could also ask what position they found him in, though this may not get you anywhere. Then you could research the drugs used to determine how appropriate they were.
He looked like he was an absolutely gorgeous boy, a real light in the world. I can imagine the pain you are in, and may he rest in peace, forever in your heart.
Hi there,I am so very sorry for your loss.
At my clinic, male cats do not undergo general anesthetic. They receive a heavy sedation, in which they can breath on their own without being intubated, get a reversal and pain relief injection when the procedure is over. Certain drugs are safer for cats, and others, like isoflurane (which is the drug we use for general anesthetic) can contribute to a rougher wake up and recovery.
After the surgery, they are placed back in their kennel or carrier with a blanket and are checked on periodically. Yes, this often means just a glance as we walk past, but if they aren't responsive or look off (especially if they were already awake) then it is bought to a vet's attention immediately. Action is then taken from there, beginning with an assessment of their vitals.
There is risk with every surgery. It is possible, seeing as cat castrations are normally fairly quick, that he had a reaction to a drug at some point after he was returned to his cage, or was accidently overdosed. It sounds to me as though they may have called you prematurely. If they called you right after the surgery was finished, then there was still plenty of time for something to go wrong. At my clinic, we do not contact the owner until the animal is fully awake for some time, unless something has gone wrong and we need to inform them.
There is also the possibility your kitty had some underlying condition you or anyone else was unaware of, even at such a young age, and his system couldn't handle the duress. We had a perfectly healthy, 6 month old male dog come in for a castration. The surgery was going smoothly, until it wasn't. His vitals were normal, he was breathing fine throughout the procedure etc. The moment we turned off the anesthetic though, I realised his heart rate was crashing. We gave him emergency drugs, put him back on oxygen immediately but he wouldn't respond to anything. One of the vets called his owner to inform him we were doing our best to save him, but the reality wasn't looking good. Then after two hours of him being unconscious (the vet sat with him the entire time) he finally came around. We were all incredibly lucky, including him, but it just went to show that genetics play a large part and even healthy animals face a risk.
As horrible as this sounds, if cats aren't positioned correctly after surgery, they can suffocate, so that may be a factor as well.
If you really want to get to the bottom of this, you could demand that the clinic tell you what drugs (and how much) they used on him, and what preventative measures they took exactly to make sure he was as safe as possible. You could also ask what position they found him in, though this may not get you anywhere. Then you could research the drugs used to determine how appropriate they were.
He looked like he was an absolutely gorgeous boy, a real light in the world. I can imagine the pain you are in, and may he rest in peace, forever in your heart.
Yogurt was a Pedigree & TICA certified British Shorthair. He has had multiple checkups from the breeder to see that he was healthy before we picked him up. After we picked him up, we also choose to have an overall checkup just to make sure. He didn't have any problems and of course, I'll never know now.. It hurts, we were on a waitlist for over a year for him and he was only with us for less than 4 months..I am sorry for the loss of your boy.
It is possible that he had an existing underlying condition. It is rare to lose a young male to this surgery, yet it can happen.
Even with such a very small chance, I always insist my rescues are altered before they go to their new families.